Deeper understandings Synodality
Church assemblies date to apostles, flourished in 15th century Editor’s note: This series is
intended to be a public conversation among teaching theologians of the ELCA on various themes of our faith and the challenging issues of our day. It invites readers to engage in dialogue by posting comments online at the end of each article at
www.thelutheran.org. The series is edited by Philip D.W.
Krey, president of the Lutheran Theo- logical Seminary at Philadelphia, on behalf of the presidents of the eight ELCA seminaries.
By Gerald Christianson S
pring is soon upon us. In some corners a sigh will go up: “For- give us, Lord, for we have synod.” Yet, whether one approaches this
time of synod assemblies with excite- ment or reticence, few are aware of the deep historical foundations of “synodality” in the Christian tradi- tion. Many assume that our synodical form of church government arises out of necessity or as a copy of civil leg- islatures. Instead, it is built on prin- ciples dating back to the New Testa- ment, elaborated in ancient councils and in medieval legislation (known
as canon law), and shaped by the con- ciliar movement in the century before Martin Luther. Deriving their meaning from
“gathering,” as in synagogue, the terms synod and synodality refer to a system of church assemblies that rep- resent a body of the faithful, from par- ish councils to regional synods and national assemblies. To better understand these terms
we need to turn to the greatest con- stitutional crisis in the history of the church, the Great Schism of 1378. Incredible as it may seem today, this schism involved the compet- ing elections of two and then three popes. Many people, worried about the effects on their salvation, sought answers: Does a community have any recourse to unresponsive rulers? If so, who or what can do it? After several failed attempts to heal
the schism, the Council of Constance (1414-1418) restored a single pope. In the process it enacted a decree, This Holy Synod, which declared that a council “derived its power imme- diately from Christ, and all persons, including the pope himself, are bound to obey.” A great historian, John Neville Fig-
Author bio: Christianson is professor emeritus of church history at the Lutheran Theo- logical Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.).
gis, declared that this was “the most revolutionary official document in the history of the world.” Today, after years of intense research, we no lon- ger see revolution in the decree alone, but in the whole conciliar movement. Fundamental to this tradition is
the image of the church as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-14) in which leadership is given for edifica- tion, not destruction (2 Corinthians 10:8; 13:10).
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www.thelutheran.org Matthew’s Gospel provides the
shape of this body: “Where two or three gather in my name ...” (18:20). The apostles put this “gathering” into practice when they held a council at Jerusalem (Acts 15) and the early church turned to this model when- ever crisis threatened, beginning with Nicea I (325). The 15th-century con- ciliarists argued that if it was good enough for the apostles, it was good enough for them in their crisis.
Everyone should be heard More surprising is a second source— medieval canon law. The major legal text was known as the Decretum (about 1140) which, despite many texts that seemed to favor the papacy, declared that “that which touches all must be approved by all.” Since the schism and reform in general touches everyone, the conciliarists argued, the concerns of everyone should be heard through a council. Finally, they added a framework
that scholars call “corporation theory.” This theory arose from the everyday practice of cathedrals, universities, towns and commercial enterprises. These corporations provided living evidence that the whole body is the seat of authority, while a rector, presi- dent or dean represents and holds authority in trust for its members. Conciliarists forged these three—
Scripture, law and the corporation theory—into a common, yet pliant, fund of principles that advocated a dramatic constitutional change in the church. Perhaps the best confir- mation of this is a masterwork, The Catholic Concordance by Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464), a young German
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